Smith’s consistency and Paquette’s return to production. Week 17 top imports
Goalie Jeremy Smith hits a milestone, while Dmitrij Jaskin returns to scoring. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
US
G, Kunlun Red Star, 2 G, 2 W, 93.24%, GAA 2.35
The American goalie had another striking week, reaching a significant milestone of 50 KHL wins and helping the Dragons winning two straight matches. First, he posted a season-high 46 saves as Kunlun Red Star defeated Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod (4:3), then he had 23 saves from 25 shots in his team’s win over Vityaz on Friday (3:2). In both cases, the Dragons reached wins in extra time. In his sixth season with Kunlun Red Star, Smith is once again the top goalie of the team and is doing his best to help the Dragons reach a playoff berth.
Canada
F, Dynamo Moscow, 2 G, 5 (3+2) points, +4
The Canadian forward played very well for the Blue-and-Whites last week, helping Dynamo winning both matches they played, scoring points in each game. First, he posted a goal and an assist in Friday’s Dynamo win over Severstal (7:2) – Paquette netted his tenth tally of the season. Two days later, he potted a double in Dynamo’s winning trip to Sochi (5:1). He also assisted Dmitry Rimashevsky’s goal in the second period, getting to five points in just two games last week. That night, Paquette posted a plus-3 rating. Dynamo recovered after three straight losses as the Blue-and-Whites will fight to stay in the top four places in the Western Conference’s standings.
Sweden
D, Metallurg, 2 G, 2 (0+2) points, even
The Swedish defenseman helped Magnitka winning twice in a row, against Avangard (2:1) and Amur (3:2), respectively. He scored points in eight of his last ten games, with one goal and eight assists. Press got two of these helpers last week, one for each game, including assisting Alexander Petunin’s game-winner in Omsk on Dec. 30. He made another assist as Metallurg defeated Amur on Sunday. Magnitka is currently the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and Press has a huge merit on that – he keeps on being the team’s top scorer.
Czechia/Russia
F, Ak Bars, 2 G, 2 (2+0) points, +1
It isn’t the best season for Jaskin so far, but the Czech international netted two goals in two games for Ak Bars last week, making everyone remember that he’s still one of the top scorers in the league. In particular, the productive forward, who is already in the top-30 all-time for goals scored with 159 goals through 294 games, netted a tally in Ak Bars’ losing effort to Severstal on Dec. 30 (2:3) and scored another goal with a plus-1 rating as the Kazan side defeated Lada on Friday (3:1). Ak Bars will need Jaskin’s goals as the playoffs approach.
